Yearender 2021: Top 10 Novels Of The Year

“Books are the gifts you can open again and again.” 

While 2021 brought an ensuing lockdown and chaos along with it, the freedom to write and express could not be curbed by a pandemic. As the year draws to an end, we bring to you the top 10 Indian fictions of 2021. And a must-read they are!  

 1. Jungle Nama by Amitav Ghosh   

Highlighting the wonders of the deep jungles and forests of the world’s largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, with the aid of poetry and prose, Amitav Ghosh illuminates some mesmerizing folk tales from the east accompanied by captivating artwork by artist Salman Toor.  

2. The Last Queen by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni  

A dynamic romance novel, narrating the love affair between a king and a commoner and exploring the effusive bond between a mother and a child, this book touches every emotion and sentiment. The spirits of the fearless feminist women in the 19th century are revived in every sentence in the book.  

3. The Loves of Yuri by Jerry Pinto  

Set in the 1980s, the story revolves around Yuri's journey from adolescence to youth perfectly complementing the coming of age genre. It accurately pens down a human’s emotional and sentimental journey of ageing and wisdom.  

4. Club You to Death by Anuja Chauhan  

From the bestselling author of ‘Those Pricey Thakur Girls’, this book is a package of humour, romance and thrilling suspense which manages to keep the readers hooked till the very end.  

5. China Room by Sunjeev Suhota  

A multi-generational story of love, repression and a breathless pursuit of fulfilment, the novel is partly inspired by the writer’s family history. The author pens the story down in a realistic yet, the way that leaves a space for imagination and fantasy.  

6. A Time Outside This Time by Amitava Kumar  

A novel with strong political stances and a voice that could not be suppressed, the author has elucidated the story with strong opinions and clarity. Indeed a passionate write up! 

7. Baby Doll: Stories by Gracy  

With a feminist perspective on sexuality and female desires, the book is quite a norm breaker setting the bar high for feminist novels in the contemporary world. A progressive coming of age novel ready to break walls. 

8. The Earthspinner by Anuradha Roy  

The story revolves around a potter who frequently keeps dreaming about the same terracotta figure. Set against the communally fractured times of contemporary India, his paths also converge with that of a dog and a girl in the neighbourhood with her own set of ideas about justice and love. 

9. Gold Diggers by Sanjena Sathian  

The story revolves around a second-generation immigrant living his life in America, however, it is nothing close to the perception of the American Dream. It’s about the man’s rebellion and the challenges that come with prejudice and discrimination.  

10. Theeyoor Chronicles by N Prabhakaran  

A story about a journalist’s travel to the land of fire to investigate the unnaturally large number of suicides and disappearances in the city. Good suspense dealing with myths, historical secrets and adventures.